SELF-MANAGEMENT

Our brain needs regular guidance to stay on track. And most people’s brains are like that. So, who should supervise our brain? Of course we don’t want a chip in our head monitoring our thoughts, we have to do it myself. We act as my brain’s babysitter.

This is why we need to spend some time thinking about our thoughts, ask ourselves: “Hey, what are you thinking about? Is that a good use of your brain?”

When we are not paying attention, our brain often wanders into unpleasant areas:

• Worrying about unlikely events (like a possible rumor about us)

• Feeling jealous of people, we don’t really know

• Regretting things that don’t matter (like silly things we said long ago)

• Remembering old insults

• Getting upset about things that only happened in dreams

We have to tell my brain to stay away from these thoughts. Rational mind need to control my emotional mind.

• Finding solutions to problems in our life

• Remembering good memories

• Thinking up new ideas

• Caring about friends who are having a hard time

• Feeling grateful for small things, like comfortable shoes

Daydreaming is not a bad thing, it can be good for us. But if we let our mind wander too much, it often goes to bad places. So, we need keep some control over the thoughts.

How do we remind yourself to monitor my thoughts? Here are some strategies we can use 

1. Be critical to our own thinking in  regular actions. For example, every time you take an elevator or while checking your phone, ask yourself: “What am I thinking about?” 

2. Be aware of your thoughts when you start to get angry. Some things deserve anger, but getting mad at someone struggling with a credit card doesn’t help. Is that a good use of your brain?

3. Set up reminders. You could use your phone to send yourself messages throughout the day asking, “What are you thinking about?” This can help you avoid negative thoughts.

Once you start supervising your thoughts , it gets easier. It becomes a habit, and you won’t need as many reminders.